Mistake in records strips leprosy patient of benefits

KAKINADA : An autorickshaw driver living in a colony here with his wife and two children is now running from pillar to post for almost a year for no fault of his. Authorities cancelled his Antyodaya ration card, citing ineligibility since records put Peyyala Sambasiva Rao as the owner of 26.1 acres of land. The ‘finding’ left the man, a leprosy patient, surprised and shocked, since in his knowledge, the only property he has is a house at Vimukti Colony near a burial ground. 

Rao’s parents, hailing from Viazg, had shifted to Kakinada 46 years ago. They were later diagnosed with leprosy, and the Central government rehabilitated them, along with several others, with the help of local non-government organisations. The auto driver was born in the Vimukti Colony where his parents were allotted a house. Later, he married a local woman, and begot two children. 

Before his card was cancelled in November 2020, the man used to get 35 kgs of rice as ration. Ever since volunteer Kudipuri Swati told him the reason for the cancellation, the man has been regularly visiting government offices to get his card and rights restored. Officials said revenue records showed him as a large landowner. After repeated appeals, the Civil Supplies Department allotted his family of four a ration of 20 kgs of rice. 

The man said the allotted quantity has been falling short of his family’s requirements. Though his ration has been partially restored, he is a worried man. If the revenue records,  which showed him as a landowner, are not corrected, he will lose other benefits also. On Monday, he attended the Spandana grievance redressal forum and met Collector Chevuri Hari Kiran. Kakinada urban tahsildar Y Sri Satish told TNIE that the records will be rectified. “But it will take six to seven months,” he added.